Murree – The real beauty of Pakistan and heaven for tourists

Murree is basically a beautiful hill station which is situated on the boundary of Pakistan. This border is stretched from Punjab and goes all the way to Azad Kashmir. It is a great spot for tourism in summer. Many domestic and foreign tourists visit Murree at

least once in their life, to see the real beauty of Pakistan. Murree is a real blessing from God to the people of Pakistan.

Murree has beautiful sceneries and attractive greenery atmosphere. Mountains covered with snow, valleys with fog, forests with heavy green trees and the weather, all these things make Murree an ideal place for tourists to visit.

Location

Murree is a mountainous area, forming part of outer Himalayas, situated at 33.35’ north latitude and 73. 27’ eastern longitudes. It consists of four gradually increasing supers. On highest among them is situated Murree city itself at height of 7500 feet. Others include Patriata, Kuldana and Gharial. It is bounded by River Jehlum in the east, NWFP districts of Abbottabad and Heripur to the North and West, Islamabad Capital Territory to the Southwest and Kotli Sattian Tehsil (town) of Rawalpindi district to the South. Murree town was built in line with the European cities with Church in the centre and main road, The Mall, running along with commercial places and administrative offices around the same. The Mall was and still is still the centre of attraction. Non Europeans were not allowed access to the Mall till independence in 1947.

Available routes for Murree

There are mainly four possible routes available for Murree. The first one is the old Murree Islamabad road through which you can reach Murree in just 1.30 hours. While 4-lane Expressway will take only one hour in total. These 2 routes are mainly used for going to Murree, since these routes are shorter than the other 2 available routes. The third route is a bit longer which passes through Nilore and goes all the way to Simli Dam. And the last route is even further exploratory which initiates from one point the ‘Monal restaurant’ which is in Islamabad, after driving that road part, you’ll find yourself driving on the 'old Murree Road’ which requires heavy vehicles, since the roads are uneven and bumpy. It will be a matter of 3 hours to reach Murree if you pick this route. It is recommended to take a GPS device or GPS activated mobile phone with you so that you don’t lose the track.

Mall road

Mall road in Murree is the most populated place ever in this region. Tourists usually go there to have food and do shopping. The best time to visit Mall road is after the evening. The mall road is basically a hill which starts from the Post Office. You can go there till midnight. A variety of Pakistani foods are available at Mall road. You’ll have a good time going there; do visit once if you are going to Murree!

Chair lift and cable car

Murree is famous for its chair lift + cable car ride, which takes you to Patriata from New Murree (new murree is 15 KM away from old Murree). The distance between the two spots is about 7 KM. The whole are is covered with huge and dark forests. You will be charged at least Rs.500 for each person if you want to ride the chair lift and cable car. You will be able to see great sceneries’ from the top.

These were some of the main highlighted features of Murree. You must go there for at least once in your life time. It sure is an unforgettable place to visit!

Historical Background

Historians disagree about the origins of Murree name.According to one theory Murree name comes from local Marrhi meaning a ridge. According to another it is derived from Turkish Marg meaning a meadow. It can not be far from reality, since there are large Turkish cultural influence in the region. The local dialect emit a series of words from Turkish language. Besides historical locals who used to spend most of the year in the valleys and used the top of hills, as pastures or fields to grow seasonal crops. For centuries Turkish Marq could have been Mary, who also became British spellings used in the beginning of their contacts with the area.It was only in 1875 that the current spelling was adopted Murree. 

A further explanation Murree name from Hazrat Marriam, or Virgin Marry, said to be buried at Pindi Point is one of the highest places. There are stories abound about holiness sight, and how divine intervention has been a stop construction workers to remove the grave. Whatever the explanation of the name seems that before the advent of the British do not represent something beyond the Hilliard. There is no entry indicates that the entire area is known as the Murree day had the same name before British occupation of the area in 1846. During the Afghan and Sikh rule the area was referred by the name the tribe inhabiting the same. It was only after transfer of the hill tract, including Murree, from the Hazara district of Rawalpindi District in 1850, the Tehsil Murree was established. 
At that time consisted of 92 villages spread across five areas or 'Ilakas of Phulgran, Charhan, Dewal, Kotli and Karor. Parts of the areas which were placed under the rule of Raja pf Muzaffarabad in 1831 along with Murree and Kahuta area, including the area from Khapur to Boi at the confluence of the rivers Jehlum and Kunhar was not returned to Rawalpindi and was held in Hazara District. Sometimes Pulgran later was transferred to Rawalpindi Tehsil and now forms a part of Islamabad Capital Territory. In the 1990s, Kotli and some villages in the so Karor ilaka were separated to form Sattian Kotli Tehsil.